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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30004776">Youngest souls</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZenHeyerdall/pseuds/ZenHeyerdall'>ZenHeyerdall</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Critical Role (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Deirta Thelyss A+ Parenting, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, baby bros, essek doesn't know hot to be a good big brother</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 20:21:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,354</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30004776</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZenHeyerdall/pseuds/ZenHeyerdall</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Essek's road to become a good brother isn't easy, Verin's road to become how he wants to be isn't an easy one too and their differences sometimes will make them fight but after all, they're brothers.</p>
<p>Series of oneshots regarding the childhoods of Essek and Verin Thelyss.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Essek Thelyss &amp; Verin Thelyss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. First Word</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first time Essek saw his brother was, obviously, when he was born.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Actually, Essek wasn't interested in the idea of becoming an older brother at all and that at the time, he hadn't found it at all attractive and interesting, he considered that he was too busy with his studies to pay attention to a new soul that was going to require the attention of everyone in that house and that he was always going to be in his shadow, noticing everything he did to imitate him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The first time he saw his younger brother, he was in their father's arms as their mother seemed slightly upset that she hadn't had the daughter she so desired and had left her husband in charge of the children while she, just a few hours later after giving birth, met with the Bright Queen, and it was he who announced that this was his younger brother, whom they had named Verín, and that now it was going to be his responsibility to protect and teach him, to be there for him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His internal reaction is a "No, thank you."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But Essek was forced to hold the baby wrapped in that white blanket, when his father with a proud smile ended up offering it to him, assuring him that he wasn't going to hurt him and that he had to take practice for the future , assuming he was interested in being a father at some point in his long life. His new brother didn't impress him at first glance, he was a small version of himself, nothing he hadn't seen before. He thought it could be passable as long as he didn't cry, but Verin must have felt that he was thinking that because after a few seconds the baby began to cry as if he was being killed, causing his older brother to grimace and look at everybody around him, looking for someone to calm him down or get rid of him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was so loud, how could something so small could make so much noise?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In the end it was their Den's nanny who took it upon herself to take little Verin away to feed him and rock him until he fell asleep.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And actually the first months with his brother were a nuisance for Essek, the baby cried all the time and for everything and that irritated him because he wasn't able to sleep well and much less study. He had important work to do, a lot to learn, and the noise was unbearable.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He didn't even come close to trying to comfort him in the crib because the only time he did it, he vomited on him and spent two hours in the bathroom wanting to get rid of that smell of whatever the child had eaten from his hair.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So Essek decided to find a way to learn a spell to soundproof his room because he had the feeling that it was something he was going to need.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Essek and his brother, however, hadn't been born into a normal family of the Kryn dynasty and what was expected of them is exceptional and their mother agreed that the eldest of her children had to be above all since because he was not only his heir, but he had to stand out above the children of the rest and if he wanted someone to take care of the child, for that they had hired a nanny or for that the father was there.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So the truth was that during the first year of Verin's life, Essek wasn't very present to say, busy as he was with his studies and that his mother didn't have much interest in her youngest son until he could be of use or started to walk or talk, whatever happened before.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The first thing happened slightly before the second and it was a horror, Verin for being so small was incredibly fast and as soon as the babysitter took her eyes off him for a second, he was running down a hallway and someone was behind him because with the little balance that he had such it would end up tripping and hurting himself and no one wanted that to happen because then they would have to face the wrath of the lady of the house.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>One day Essek found that Verin had escaped from the nursery again and was running down the hall with a wooden toy and getting dangerously close to the stairs.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He never admitted it, but Essek noticed that he was growing old a few years from fright when he saw his brother like this. But luckily as soon as the toddler saw him he smiled from ear to ear and ran towards his older brother.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Verin!" Essek rushed to catch his brother before he could get hurt "You know you don't have to run through the hallways, how many times do they have to tell you?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But he doubted that his brother understood what he was saying, he was still too young to understand according to what things but Essek didn't know how to address a child, he had heard his father treat him in that way that adults sometimes did and that it seemed that he was indicating that his son was stupid but he didn't quite like that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Verin was overjoyed, he seemed oblivious to the chaos that could have been caused by the simple fact that he had fallen down the stairs, and he was looking at his older brother with those large eyes so identical to his, shining with an innocence and affection in them that made him Essek was overwhelmed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Essek!" a voice exclaimed then.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>For a second he thought that there was someone else in the house, that his mother or father had found them, that they had already returned from the meeting with the Bright Queen, but that voice didn't belong to any of them and it took him a while to understand that it was about Verin.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Essek wanted to go to the nursery and try to make Verin fall asleep but after hearing that he froze and was about to drop the toddler to the ground if it weren't for the fact that he clung to his neck, happily oblivious to what had caused him to Essek's brain was shutting down and kicking that hit his older brother's chest as he babbled in a language he didn't know. In silence he took his brother to his room where there was no one since he assumed that the nanny must be looking for him in the rest of the house and left him in her crib, hoping that the child would get bored and he ended up falling asleep.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A Essek left the nursery after that, telling the nanny to be more careful or the next time she was going to be fired and after that he went back to his room to try to study but couldn't.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was stunned, he didn't know what had just happened, well yes he knew because he wasn't stupid, Verin's first word had been his name, he didn't understand why he had to be the one chosen, his father made more sense, even his nanny had more sense that he. But he couldn't shake the feeling of pride that it was him.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Playtime</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As Verin grew , Essek encountered situations where he couldn't help but run into his brother and his effusive affection and adoration for him.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>It was something that made him feel uncomfortable because he neither knew how to treat his little brother, nor did he know how it was possible that he was so attached to him when they weren't spending so much time together or really paying attention to him. He thought that maybe it was something normal, that a younger brother would always admire the older one and tried to downplay it.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>But the thing was that although his brother no longer cried all the time since he had learned to walk and speak, he did nothing but repeat his favorite words and although his vocabulary was more extensive every day, his favorite word was his brother's name and when he wanted his attention he yelled it out at the top of his lungs. When that happened, the nanny used to start looking around the house for him to ask if he could at least spend time with him until he calmed down.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Essek the older he became, the busier he was, he was close to perfecting the spell that would allow him to float instead of walking, he already achieved that but there were some flaws that made him unable to control how he floated and ended up hitting the ceiling or some wall or whatever was in between. It was a sensitive subject because any mistake in a spell could be fatal.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>"Essek!" exclaimed a small voice next to him.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>The eldest of the Thelyss brothers, recognizing the voice of his younger brother, let out a sigh and looked to his side where his brother Verin was standing with bright eyes, a smile, in pajamas and damp hair, a symptom of that he had recently received his bath before his bedtime.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>"Verin" greeted him "you should be sleeping"</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>"No sleep!" he exclaimed "Wanna play"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I have to work, Verin" he told him, even knowing that his brother wouldn't understand.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>"No work, play" asked this.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>Essek sighed again, wondering why his little brother seemed to only want to be with him when he had a nanny or his father to play. Then he remembered that his father was away those days on a mission and surely Verin noticed the man's absence since they spent a lot of time together. So resigned to not being able to continue working until his brother was in bed, he picked him up and carried him to his room.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>On the way he met the nanny , who apologized for what had happened but Essek reluctantly told her that nothing was wrong, that he was already taking care of it.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>At first, Essek was going to leave his brother in his crib and that's it but Verin had another idea of what he wanted to do and as soon as Essek turned to leave the room and go back to his things, the boy protested and called him again shouting his name until he, annoyed, came over again and took a seat in the chair next to him.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>"Is that what you want? You want me to stay by your side? " he asked but the child didn't answer "Now you choose to shut up, okay but I'm not going to play with you, I have to study" he added invoking one of his books with a flick of the wrist, which caused Verin to laugh "You find it funny? Magic is serious, Verin, but you are still too young to appreciate it. "</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>"Magic" the boy repeated "pretty" and then added "purple magic"</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>"Yeah, I know, my magic is purple" supposed that for a child of such a young age, who was beginning to discover the world and for whom every first thing was new, everything was interesting for him.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>Essek then had an idea, he casted a dancing light that looked more like a star than a small ball of light but the effect was the desired since Verin opened his eyes wide and tried to catch it as soon as he saw it, but when his hands went through it he grunted frustrated and gave his brother a bad look, as if he was demanding that he let him touch it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Don't look at me, that's how it works," he observed. He had to admit it, it was quite funny to see the little boy frustrated trying to understand what was happening.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>He was entertaining Verin for a few minutes like that, with him sitting on his lap and he moving the dancing light from side to side, trying to get him to catch it until the little one got bored and got off it, to walk slowly towards a wooden trunk where he had his toys and from there he took out a wooden sword. A gift from his father if he remembered correctly, Essek had also had one but he had never been interested in those things, apparently Verin was interested.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>"Play with me" he asked .</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>"There is only one sword" he observed "We need two"</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>"Use magic"  he added.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It wouldn't be a good idea, it is not time to play but to sleep" Essek reminded him. Besides, he didn't think playing with magic was the best idea, especially with such a young child. But he came up with a better idea that could be a compromise for both of them “What if I tell you a story? "</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>"Yes" he exclaimed, dropping his back to the ground and running towards his brother "Daddy tells me many"</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>"I've guessed that," he observed. He used to do that to him too until he realized he didn't need stories before going to bed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But that was a good idea, Essek put his brother back in the cradle and although he wasn't by far an expert in children's stories he did have a better memory for the history of the Kryn dynasty so he thought that Verin wasn't going to tell the difference between one thing and another. So he decided to tell him the story that everyone knew about how they gave up worshiping Loth because they had found the first luxon beacon. A story that Essek knew by heart to such an extent that he could have told it in another language without any problem. Verin was too young to understand it but how he decided to use minor illusions to illustrate what he was telling him and that fascinated the toddler.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>Even so little Verin ended falling asleep almost halfway through the story, Essek wrapped him up before leaving and went back to his room hoping to finish studying.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>At least for the moment, crisis averted.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>For now.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I writed these between prompts of the Essek Week , I think in here Verin has 2-3 years old.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thanks you so much for reading!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>What can I say? I love Verin and Essek even if in canon we still don't have any real interaction between them.</p>
<p>Also I just wanted to write more about these two and their childhoods, I don't how long this is going to be but here we are. </p>
<p>As always english is not my first languaje so I'm sorry if there is any mistake.</p>
<p>Thank you for reading and kudos or comments are very apreciated!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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